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Today, 27th of September, we celebrate
Saint Vincent of Paul
1 Cor 7:25–31
Brothers and sisters:
In regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord,
but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.
So this is what I think best because of the present distress:
that it is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a separation.
Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife.
If you marry, however, you do not sin,
nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries;
but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life,
and I would like to spare you that.
I tell you, brothers, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.
Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
R./ Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear,
forget your people and your father's house.
So shall the king desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, and you must worship him.
R./ Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
All glorious is the king's daughter as she enters;
her raiment is threaded with spun gold.
In embroidered apparel she is borne in to the king;
behind her the virgins of her train are brought to you.
R./ Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
They are borne in with gladness and joy;
they enter the palace of the king.
The place of your fathers your sons shall have;
you shall make them princes through all the land.
R./ Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.
Lk 6:20-26
Lifting up his eyes to his disciples, Jesus said,
"Fortunate are you who are poor, the kingdom of God is yours."
Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Fortunate are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember that is how the ancestors of this people treated the prophets.
But alas for you who have wealth, for you have been comforted now.
Alas for you who are full, for you will go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of these people treated the false prophets."
Dear friend,
The passage from the letter to the Corinthians that we’re following this week begins with a conflict about sex among them. They consult Paul about the best state of life, and surely there were very different views among them regarding marriage. On the one hand, there were those who were inclined to follow the pagan customs of union, on the other hand, those who would advocate for marriage, others who would despise it and prefer the condition of being single or celibate for the Kingdom, etc. One is not better for being married, or single, or celibate; each one has a function and a dedication according to their state of life, but all must work for the Kingdom of God.
St. Paul prefers to put the issue into perspective, not to opt preferentially for one state of life in relationships, and to advise that each one, in the state of life they choose, dedicate themselves to doing good. The good that Jesus announces again in the Beatitudes, the essence of the message. He does this, let’s not forget, right after choosing the Twelve, in what biblical scholars call the “Sermon on the Plain,” in chapter six of St. Luke.
These Beatitudes of Luke, unlike those of Matthew, are different. In Matthew there were eight, while here there are four Beatitudes and another four that we can call woes or lamentations. In the first, Jesus calls four kinds of people “happy and blessed”: the poor, those who are hungry, those who weep, and those who are persecuted because of their faith. In the second, the woes, he laments and dedicates his “woe” to four other kinds of people: the rich, those who are full, those who laugh, and those who are flattered by the world. Jesus thus indicates that the first are priorities for God, precisely because they are the most needy and whom no one attends to. And the unfortunate ones are those who are at the back of the line in God’s preferences because they forget about the former.
Therefore, whether you are single, married, celibate, etc., do not forget your most needy neighbors, because this is more important than the sexual condition you live in. I think that’s very clear.
Your brother in the faith,
Juan Lozano, cmf.Lord, God of the rich and the poor,
let the message of Jesus your Son
strike us and shake us up
from our certainties and securities.
Indeed, may we use our riches
of mind and heart and faith and goods
in the service of the poor,
our power for the benefit of others,
our abundance to be shared
and to get us out of our self-satisfaction,
our happiness to console
and bring your joy, not ours.
Make us poor in pride, hungry for justice,
weeping for the evil we have caused.
And let people insult us
when we do not live up to the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
Regarding each one’s state in life, whether celibacy or marriage, Paul gives his personal advise that conversion does not demand anyone to change this status but rather to live this status according to the best of one’s abilities.
Gospel Introduction
Luke is the only evangelist coming from paganism - a world of slavery, fear and oppression, and of moral license. He is so struck by the fact that Christ had a place for the poor and for marginal people, for whom nobody cared in his milieu, that this concern of Christ is one of the major emphases in his gospel, particularly in its social aspects. For example, he says, not like Matthew, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," but "Blessed are you, the poor. Woe to you, the rich..."
- For the poor, that God may fill their expectations; for the satisfied, that God may change their hearts and make them capable of sharing, we pray:
- For those who are hungry, that the Lord himself may give them the bread of life and inspire us to give them the bread of every day, we pray:
- For those who now weep, that the Lord may console them with his love; for those who now laugh, that he may remind them of the seriousness of life and make them capable of reflection, we pray:
God, with bread and wine
we celebrate the death and suffering
of your Son Jesus Christ.
Teach us here, by his example,
that sickness and pain make sense,
that even death is a seed of life.
In humility and with shame
we accept this insight, Lord,
and ask you to let it inspire us.
May we accept it also
as a hard but saving reality,
by which we try to live, in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Lord our God,
you let the Word of your Son upset us,
but this eucharist gives us the strength
to take his word with open hearts and minds.
Let our riches in any form
not satisfy us but others,
that there may be room in us for hope.
Let us feel the weight of our limitations,
that we may keep hungering
for love and justice and freedom.
Give us tears to weep
that we have not dared to be
your sign of contradiction in this world.
Bless us, Lord, that we may praise and bless you
and your Son, now and for ever.
Blessed are you… What God wants is our happiness. He leaves us free: we are the ones to make the choice what we are going to do with our lives. May God give you the right insight and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
